International conference “In the Spirit of the Rovaniemi Process – Arctic Cities, Global Processes and Local Realities” is organized in Rovaniemi 2–4 December 2013. The conference will focus on global challenges in the Arctic from the perspective of environmental protection and sustainable development. In addition to the scientific part, the participation of Arctic mayors plays a significant role in the conference.
The Arctic is perceived as a region influenced by multiple global drivers of change, including climate change, economic globalization and international politics. At the same time, these changes require greater involvement in transnational decision-making from local actors.
The programme of the three-day conference is composed of several keynote speeches, series of autonomous sessions, associated events and the concluding Arctic Cities Panel. Among conference keynotes will be Mary Simon, an Inuit Canadian diplomat, who played a critical role in establishing Arctic cooperation; Thorvald Stoltenberg, the former Defense and Foreign minister of Norway; and Kaj Bärlund who was the Minister of the Environment in Finland 1987–1991. The scientific sessions will host top-rated Arctic experts from all over the world.
The conference, organized jointly by the City of Rovaniemi and the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland, continues the tradition of so-called Rovaniemi Process. The Rovaniemi Process refers to the development which started from the Finnish initiative for Arctic environmental co-operation and which led to the adoption of the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy, signed in Rovaniemi in 1991. The Rovaniemi Process contributed to peace and stability in the region and was finally merged into the Arctic Council, the currently predominant body of Arctic governance.
The cooperation between Arctic cities and cities with a strong interest to the Arctic region is brought to the center of the attention for the first time in such a high level in the Rovaniemi conference. Mayors from Asia, North-America, Russia and Scandinavia have been invited to the conference.
The City of Rovaniemi aims to strengthen its role in international Arctic cooperation and politics as a significant centre of excellence and meeting place.
More information:
Mayor, City of Rovaniemi Esko Lotvonen
Director Paula Kankaanpää, paula.kankaanpaa (at) ulapland.fi, tel. +358 40 777 7825
Research Professor Timo Koivurova, timo.koivurova (at) ulapland.fi, tel. +358 40 551 9522
Conference homepage:
www.rovaniemiprocess.fi